Sunday, April 06, 2008
Recipes
Revive your taste buds with a delicious plate of Chicken with Spicy African Sauce. This recipe probably originated in Africa, was touched up in the Caribbean and later peanut butter replaced some kind of nut paste in the U.S. “Natural” peanut butter is preferable. Habanero peppers are the hottest chile peppers available. The amount of hot pepper asked for in the recipe adds reasonable heat. Use more or less according to your taste. The wonderful, rich earthy flavor has survived all the revisions. Serve this dish on brown rice with a green vegetable for an elegant meal.
Chicken with Spicy African Sauce
1 lb. skinless and boneless chicken breast, cut in 2-inch pieces
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth or water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Canola oil spray
1 Spanish onion, halved, then half sliced, half finely chopped
1 can (28 oz.) tomatoes, with juices
1/2 habanero chile pepper, seeded and minced
2 Tbsp. tomato paste mixed with 2 tbsp. water
1/3 cup peanut butter, preferably without added sugar, fructose or corn syrup
Place the chicken in a 1-quart re-sealable plastic bag. Combine the garlic, ginger, oregano and broth in a small bowl. Add the seasoning mixture to the bag and massage it to coat the chicken with the seasonings. Marinate the coated chicken in the refrigerator for six hours. Bring the chicken to room temperature before cooking.
Coat a large Dutch oven with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken pieces until they are white on all sides, about five minutes. Season them with salt and pepper and transfer them to a plate and set aside.
Coat the pot again with cooking spray. Sauté the sliced onion until it’s limp, five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes with half of their liquid, the chile pepper, tomato paste and the chopped onions. Bring the mix to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer the sauce for about ten minutes, breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Blend the peanut butter in the remaining tomato juice until it is smooth. Add it to the pot. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, to taste. Return the chicken to the pot. Simmer it until it is white in the center, for about fifteen minutes. Serve the chicken accompanied by cooked brown rice.
Makes 4 servings.
Per serving: 324 calories, 14 g. total fat (2 g. saturated fat), 19 g. carbohydrate, 33 g. protein, 6 g. dietary fiber, 376 mg. sodium.